25th November 2020
Dear Friends,
National and world events moved so fast in November that it was difficult to keep up with them. We are extending this edition of the Newsletter to carry a Reflection from Noel Beattie on those very events, in which he draws them together to spark a light in these winter months and be a beacon for the New Year.
LIVING with QUESTIONS
There are different ways of thinking about how we live our lives. But it is an obvious truth that we have been, still are, and always will be ‘living with questions’.
This is how we learn; by finding answers and building on them, to create the world we live
in. One thing we have learned is that we live in an evolving universe, where change is
happening all the time. So we should not just take things for granted as being ‘fixed and final’; we should be open to keep on learning by asking questions.
One of the questions that will always be with us is ‘the God question’. Some of the answers
that we have inherited, come from a world that no longer exists. We need to find an
understanding of the word God that makes sense in the world as we know it today in the 21st
century.
We can no longer think of God as ‘Somebody-Somewhere’, who occasionally moves in to
get involved with what’s going on down here on earth. We need to change our way of thinking from ‘God outside moving in’ to ‘God inside moving out’.
Those who have seen our church notice-board, will have read the words of John Shelby
Spong, a retired bishop who for many years has been asking the God question. He now thinks that “God is not a noun to be described, but a verb to be lived.”
This involves thinking of God as the Spirit within, which moves us to live in the ways of
Goodness, Truth, Beauty and Love. It is what Jesus called The Kingdom of God, which he said is within you, and that we shouldn’t be looking for it to come in from outside. (Luke 17:20f).
Regarding the God question, there is for us no ultimate answer; and we should beware of
any who think that they have the last word! We will have to make room in our lives for ‘not
knowing’. This is an honest, humble and healthy position to be in. It invites us to have faith; to entrust both our knowing and our not knowing, into the hands of the Great Mystery of All
things, that we can call God.
Donald Horsfield
Notes from the Editorial team
If you would like copies of our Newsletter to share with neighbours or friends please let us know. We can
easily add extra copies in your envelope, or add them to our mailing list.
We have the unpublished recording of a talk given by Bishop Trevor Huddleston in 1984. Bishop Huddleston
was renowned for his anti-apartheid activity and was something of a thorn in the side of the Church of
England. It is on two CDs and will play in a standard CD player. If you would like to hear it please let us know.
Call Tel: 7221213
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
Earlier this month we mourned the death of one of the clearest and most influential of modern religious thinkers, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. He was only 72, born and brought up in North London, he was a man who brought fresh thinking to the familiar.
Jonathan Sacks was admired by people of all faiths and none. He brought a special kind of thought, the ability to see things differently, to alter perspectives, to see those things you have seen all along but never noticed. He was a regular contributor to the daily Radio 4 ‘Thought for the Day’, bringing a concise and clear view of something topical and immediate.
One quote from him is very much of the moment. He wrote that finding light in times of darkness “is not about optimism but about courage, the courage to face an unknown future knowing that we are not alone, that God is with us, lifting us when we fall, signalling the way.”
December Church Meeting
There will be no Church Meeting in December. The next meeting will be in March at the time of our AGM. Any decision which Elders make in the meantime will be notified in the Newsletter.
SMILE
By Spike Milligan
Smiling is infectious
You catch it like the flu.
When someone smiled at me today
I started smiling too.
I passed around the corner
and someone saw my grin.
When he smiled I realised
I’d passed it on to him
I thought about that smile
then realised its worth.
A single smile just like mine
could travel round the Earth.
So if you feel a smile begin,
don’t leave it undetected.
Let’s start an epidemic quick
and get the world infected!
With thanks to Jo at Entertaining Elephants for bringing this to us.
Memories
We have had some lovely responses to the Remembrance Day Special Edition of the Newsletter, including some vividly pictured moments. If you have memories of the 1930/40s, including postwar and the terrible winters, and would like to share them, we are planning a further Special Edition some-time in the New Year so they can be shared. Please let Janet or Sheelagh have them.
Mayfair
Despite all Government COVID restrictions Mayfair Community Centre and the Health & Wellbeing Centre continue to provide services. Even if the buildings are closed to visitors booked medical appointments continue. MAYSI, Ring and Ride (essential journeys only), Mayfair Meals Food Delivery, Telephone Befrienders, and support with prescriptions & shopping continue. If you have any queries or concerns please call 01694 722077
SHREWSBURY URC ONLINE SERVICES
Sunday 9.30am
29th Nov – led by Nigel Matthews
6th Dec – Communion Service led by Carole Marsden
13th Dec – led by Rachel Coward
To dial in call: 0131 460 1196 followed by ID 957 6531 3257 # then another #.
Midweek Reflections
Tuesday 2.30pm
To dial in call: 0131 460 1196 followed by ID 948 3505 7300 # then another #
If you want the Zoom video links please contact Roger.
A full list of Christmas Services will be in the next Newsletter.
Elders’ contact details
Jan Badman 723158
Jill Macgregor 724267 gill.mac@btinternet.com
Howard Bridge 722092 sandford@go-plus.net
Jennifer Thomas 722107 jthomas4757@hotmail.com
Jennifer Bridge 722092 jenniferbridge80@gmail.com
Roger Wilson 722123 rogleswil@me.com
Haro Horsfield 723010 horsfield001@btinternet.com
Glenys Young 724647 glybronant@gmail.com
A REFLECTION
THEN, ONCE IN A LIFETIME … HOPE AND HISTORY RHYME
This is a quote from a Seamus Heaney poem who is one of my favourite poets, who honed out a lot of his poetry in the so called ‘the troubles’ of N Ireland. It seems a very long time now since I saw such joy and hope that took to the streets of Washington and elsewhere when Joe Biden’s presidency was called. These happenings are infectious, even for us in another country with another story; we need right now to touch even its coat tails.
Joe Biden, in choosing that poem was bringing together a number of themes, to do with values that had been so neglected, and not just in the last four years. They are about respect for opponents, those with different views; the requirement to be generous with those in need; to speak truthfully or to say nothing; that political power is a life of service; that all people are to have equal opportunity to be what they want to be.
There are moments when extraordinary events come together as signs of hope.
It was also the week of Remembrance and watching from London on television, it felt even more poignant this year and very moving. I was particularly struck by the few who marched past the Cenotaph and among them was a 96 year old. It was the pursuit of power absolute that wasted the lives of millions whom we honour as ‘the glorious dead’, and gave us the Holocaust.
There was also the death of Jonathan Sacks whose gift, not to Judaism alone, but to all faiths and the world, was to find the words that could bring people together. He is recognised as one of the most respected and influential thinkers of today. He stands out against the elevation of self-interest over the common good. It is words, deeply mined, from the human experience which can move us to change the world.
I think Biden was expressing the desire felt within so many people to create a better world, and to start by changing the language. The words that inspire are: building bridges, inclusion, openness, truthfulness, kindness, and are so much richer than those we have become familiar with from the White House in the last four years and indeed from the words of Brexit. It will still be winter when Joe Biden takes office but spring is nearer.
We had a glimpse of that hopeful spring in the appearance of Kamala Harris, the only ever woman vice-president and a black woman. She introduced herself by saying that I am the first but will not be the last woman you will see in this place, and that every little girl will be able to dream that it can be them. The camera moved around to pick out such a little girl on her Dad’s shoulder. The words have to be backed by evidence that these hopes and dreams can be fulfilled. The spirit and the people are in place and it feels that tomorrow can be better.
Noel Beattie
Shropshire Area Worship led by Shrewsbury URC All Welcome
At home, online by Zoom, by phone, on facebook.
Advent 2020 and January 2021
Sunday 29th Nov –Waiting in the Dark led by Nigel Matthews
Sunday 6th Dec – Prepare the Way Communion Service led by Carole Marsden
Sunday 13th – The Magnificat led by Rachel Coward
Sunday 20th – 9.30am Nativity Sunday! led by Carole and many others!
6.30pm – Reflective Communion led by Carole
Tuesday 22nd – 6.30pm Candlelight Service
Direct Link: https://zoom.us/j/92073951304?pwd=TWRIR001eEoyTE0yV1VBQVJPU3lIdz09
Mtg ID: 920 7395 1304 and Pass: 211292. Dial in: 0131 460 1196 then ID: 920 7395 1304 # #
Christmas Eve Carol Service – 7pm With BSL Signer
Direct link: https://zoom.us/j/94809951035?pwd=WmlpMXZCL0gzQ3lBQkFZS3pwTSsrUT09
Mtg ID: 948 0995 1035 and Pass: 807408. Dial in: 0131 460 1196 then ID: 948 0995 1035 # #
Christmas Day Celebration – 10am
Direct link: https://zoom.us/j/97349109194?pwd=akZpSWVpNnJ5L0lYeG1vSzdCNEZZZz09
Mtg ID: 973 4910 9194 and Pass: 493929, Dial in: 0131 460 1196 then ID: 973 4910 9194 # #
Sunday 29th – Favourite festive readings, Carols and “things” led by all of you!
Sunday 3rd January 2021 – Communion and Covenanting led by Carole
Sunday 10th – Moving on led by Carole
Sunday 17th – “Come and See” led by Carole
Sunday 24th – Have I got Good News for you! led by Dave Treweeke
Sunday 31st – Making an Impression led by Carole
ALL Sunday Services 9.30am and 3rd Sunday 6.30pm.
To dial in call: 0131 460 1196 followed by meeting ID 957 6531 3257 # then another #.
Direct Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/95765313257?pwd=Vm9wa1JPQ0ViQVhuWGR5VlMrbE51UT09
Or ID: 957 6531 3257 and Passcode: 945337 Or Fb – via Shrewsbury URC Chat Group page.
ALL Midweek Reflections at Tuesday 2.30pm
To dial in call: 0131 460 1196 followed by meeting ID 948 3505 7300 # then another #.
Direct Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/94835057300 or using ID 948 3505 7300 or fb as above.